|
I
have written on many a diverse topics to PD.
Some of my topics deal with the issues of Bihar
while others deal with general issues pertaining
to culture, linguistics or something under the
sun. While general articles are informative and
fun to read, they do not make any ripples.
Topics related to Bihari politics, however, make
big waves. It is understandable because opinions
are like bellybuttons - everybody has one.
Political opinions are looking for outlets of
expression and the PD forum becomes the stage at
Hyde Park where one can wax eloquent and
theorize and preach of grandiose plans to
restore Bihar its lost glory.
I have seen these theorizations around the chai-table
when I was growing up. The overseer saheb, among
several others, who visited us carried the plan
of Bihar-Sudhar in his shirt pocket and would
get very excited when he leaned forward in his
chair and 'let go' his plans in bhojpuri mixed
with Hindi, that his eyes would bulge. Of
course, his narrative was interspersed with
scandalous stories about the tribulations of his
henpecked neighbor and how the poor man's 'maugi'
ruled over him. He would then bare his paan
stained teeth and guffaw and grin as if he was
more amused by his own jokes than we were.
The point I am trying to make is that everyone
carries a readymade plan to fix Bihar, and yet
Bihar has stood like the Rock of Gibraltar in
the cesspool of corruption and crime for
centuries. Somehow, we are so impressed by our
own schemes and plans to fix Bihar that we do
not want to face the reality that no plan is
implementable in the complex caste and crime
ridden society of Bihar. When at the Nadir, the
only way to go is up? Wrong! Bihar has either
found new Nadirs or has moved laterally along at
that level.
It is one thing to be an optimist and another
thing to be hallucinating! The key to fixing
Bihar lies in the hands of the people who are
living there. Grandiose plans of NRI's and NRB's
are pipedreams and wishful thinking.
The only thing that NRI's and NRB's can do is to
influence the thinking of the people who live in
Bihar. I think that less than 0.1% of people
have access to the internet. Still, if one mind
is opened up, it is a step in the right
direction. So instead of piping dreams, lets
talk about other things - things that educate
and inform. That way, we enrich each other and
contribute to the growth of Bihar by raising
people's awareness.
|
Comments: |
|
No
comment so far. |
|
Discussion on this topic is now
closed. |
Return to previous Page |
